Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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264. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the impact the recent opinion of the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice in a case (details supplied) will have on the issue of vehicle registration tax; the implications for persons here driving borrowed vehicles from Northern Ireland on a short-term basis and persons driving leased vehicles from another jurisdiction for the purpose of their employment; his plans for the recovery of part of the vehicle registration tax that may have been paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19930/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Firstly, I would like to clarify the background. The EU Commission have purported that Ireland has not fulfilled its obligations under Article 56 (freedom to provide services) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union due to the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) treatment of vehicles that are brought into the State on a temporary basis.

The Case was heard in the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the 22 November 2016. The Court has not given its ruling yet. However, the Advocate General delivered his opinion on the Case on 2 March 2017. In his opinion the Advocate General proposed that the Court should find that the action brought by the Commission was well founded.

However, I must strongly emphasise that the Advocate General's Opinion is not binding on the Court of Justice. It is the role of the Advocates General to propose to the Court, in complete independence, a legal solution to the cases for which they are responsible. The Judges of the Court now begin their deliberations in this case and judgment will be given at a later date- normally in 2 to 3 months. In cases such as this it is not exceptional the Court take a different position to the Advocate General.

I do not intend to speculate on implications of the Court judgment in advance of the delivery of the judgment.